Method of identifying yarns

ABSTRACT

A method of weaving, warping, and knitting textured fabrics wherein the yarns utilized may be readily identified thereby allowing verification of the pattern and easy replacement of broken yarns. Set and stretch textured yarns are arranged in accordance with a predetermined pattern. Once the yarns are either partially wound on the warp, arranged in the loom, or threaded through the knitting machine, identification and verification of the pattern may be accomplished by partially relieving the yarn tension and viewing the degree of slack in each yarn. The yarn with the greater amount of slack is the set yarn while the yarn with the lesser amount of slack is the stretch yarn. The same technique may be further utilized in the identification of yarns broken during weaving, warping or knitting.

States latent n91 Goy 28/722 R Gottlieb I g Nov. 26, 1974 METHOD OFIDENTIFYING YARNS Primary ExaminerLouis K. Rimrodt [7 5] Inventor:Michael M. Gottlieb, New York, N.Y. [57] ABSTCT [73] Assignee: LibertyFabrics of New York, Inc., A method of weaving, warping, and knittingtextured New York, N.Y. fabrics wherein the yarns utilized may bereadily identified thereby allowing verification of the pattern and [22]Filed 1973 easy replacement of broken yarns. Set and stretch tex- [21]Appl. No.: 355,086 tured yarns are arranged in accordance with apredetermined pattern. Once the yarns are either partially wound on thewarp, arranged in the loom, orthreaded $18.31. h gh h hin identificationand erifi- E 5 32 32 5 cation of the pattern may be accomplished bypartially 0 care 7 6 6 relieving the yarn tension and viewing the degreeof slack in each yarn. The yarn with the greater amount 56 R i Ct d ofslack is the set yarn while the yarn with the lesser I 1 e erences eamount of slack is the stretch yarn. The same tech- UNITED STATESPATENTS nique may be further utilized in the identification of 2,114,0044/1938 Reinthal 28/725 X yarns broken during weaving, warping orknitting. 3,216,082 11/1965 4 Claims, N0 Drawings u 1 METHOD OFTDENTIFYING YARNS ing, warping and knitting textured yarns and moreparticularly to the identification of the particular textured yarnsutilized. t

Textured yarns have been used increasingly during recent years forknitted and woven fabrics. Textured yarns are advantageous, depending'onthe type selected, in that they provide the resultant fabric withstrength along with bulk, thermalinsulation, absorbency, ruggedperformance and stretch. Further, the yarns are versatile in that theresultant fabric can be produced in a great variety of patternsordesigns dependent upon the selection of the yarns for the particularpattern. For instance, the fabric might be knit or woven in undyed formfor either a printed style or a piece dyed solid shade. Further, crossdyed styles might be obtained by using cationic-dyable and deep dyingyarns. A regular dying textured nylon yarn might be added in this lattercombination to produce a three color fabric.

Generally speaking there are three categories of textured yarns, namely,stretch'yarns (single heater false twist textured), set yarns (doubleheater false twist textured), and bulk yarns (stuffer box set or crimpedyarns). Stretch yarns are characterized by their high elongation andrapid recovery. Set yarns on the other hand are some times referred toas modified stretch yarns in that they have been modified so as toreduce their stretch and recovery but retain much of their clave, orduring a yarn dying operation. Bulk yarns,

which'frequently have many attributes of set yarns, are of a limitedstretch and greatly increased'mass adapted to impart a full hand to thefabric and maybe used as set yarns .in this invention.

. During knitting oftexturedwarp knit fabrics and also duringpreparation'ofthe warp, a great number of yarns are arranged inaccordance with a predetermined pattern. Since each of these yarns, inthe stretch or set condition has basically the same appearance,difficulties havebeen encountered in distinguishing between thedifferent yarns utilized in the pattern. Identification of each of theyarns is generally necessary during initial weaving, warping andknitting of .the pattern and also whenever one desires to check thepattern. Yarn identification is further required when broken yarns areencountered. Present weaving and knitting practice, both when yarnbreakage; is encountered or when the pat ternis to be checked,,generallyrequires that the ma-. chine be stopped and apiece of the fabric cutfrom the .run. The cut piece of fabric is then dyed to ascertain whetherthe yarns are in the proper arrangement. Of course, this technique ishighly inefficient and causes substantial machine downtime; Moreover, ifan error occurs in warping, hundreds of pounds of yarn would be renderedunusable.

Because of the yarns being virtually indistinguishable while beingprocessed, such as in weaving, knitting and warping, it has-beenproposed to pre-dye the different yarns to be utilized. In this mannerone may readily check the pattern or otherwise identify the yarns usedsince their colors are distinguishable from one another. Aside from theadditional expense, one drawback with respect to this system is that alarge inventory of yarns is necessary. Another solution practiced bycertain manufacturers is that of utilizing a 4 bar machine to fabricatefabrics normally made on a 2 bar machine.

Although this permits somewhat better identification of the yarns thanwhen making a 4 bar fabric on a 4 bar machine, it reduces the number ofpossible designs capable of being produced on the machine.

By the method disclosed herein, an effective and simple method isprovided whereby textured-yarns utilized in warping, weaving andknitting may be readily identified without the drawbacks of the priorart.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION partially wound on the warp and placed underthe necessaryamount of tension. In order to positively identify each ofthe yarns, the tension is slightly relieved and the amount of slack inthe yarns-is compared. Those yarns displaying the greater amount ofslack, i.e., less recovery, are identified as the set yarns whereas theyarns with the lesser amount of slack are the stretch yarns.

In the case where yarns are to be identified during the knitting of awarp knit fabric, the yarns are as before arranged according to thepredetermined pattern and appropriately threaded through the needles,guide bars, etc. of the knitting machine. In order to positivelyidentify the yarns, the tension is relieved so that the amount of slackin the respective yarns might be compared to ascertain whether the yarnis a stretch or set yarn. Similarly, for wovenfabrics the comparison maybe made of the yarns arranged in the loom. Inthe case where broken yarnsare encountered, either in preparing the warp, weaving or duringknitting, the yarns may be identified in a manner similar to thatpreviously des'cribedQlVlore specifically, the broken yarns are firstgrasped and placed under tension an amount sufficient so that the yarnsare substantially taut. Next, the tension previously applied to eachyarn is relieved slightly so that the degree of slack in the respectiveyarns may be viewed. Here again, the yarn which has the greater amountof slack will be the set yarn whereas the-one with the lesser amountofslack will be the stretch-yarn. I

Asv is apparent, this manner of identifying yamsis both positive andadapted to-eliminate the lengthy machine downtime associated "with theprior art tech niques. Moreover, usageof the combination of set'andstretch yarns as in the present invention, produces fab,- ricscomparable tov those conventionally produced.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to. provide a method ofidentifying yarns utilized in the preparation of a warp for weaving orfor warp knit fabrics.

his anotherobject of this invention to provide a method of identifyingyarns utilized in the knitting of warp knit fabrics or in weaving.

it is still another object of this invention to provide a method ofidentifying broken yarns encountered ei- 'ther during knitting of warpknit fabrics, during preparation of a warp, or during weaving.

These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT To illustrate the number ofyarns or ends present in a particular knitting machine, reference ismade to a 24 gauge 168 inches tricot machine. If 4 beams, each 42 incheswide are used, and each beam has a total of 1,008 ends or yarns, thereare a total of 4,032 ends or by taking an end of each of the yarns andlaying them parallel to one another. The operator then grasps the endsof the two yarns with his finger, the fingers being spaced approximately3 inches apart. Next, the yarns are stretched so as to place them intension much like during warping or knitting. In this tension condition,the yarns will both appear identical. Next, the tension is slightlyrelieved, resulting in the stretch yarn appearing in a substantiallystraight line while the set yarn sags or droops considerably. When oneviews a stretch and set yarn in the manner described, they are readilyidentifiable from one another.

This same technique is adapted to be employed during warping andknitting. For instance during warping, once the yarns have been arrangedin accordance with a predetermined pattern and at least partially woundon each bar, three of one yarn and one of the other on Bar 1 while Bar 2has one of the first yarn and three of the other yarn, thus making atotal of 8,064 yarns in the machine. Each warp would have 4,032 ends.More complicated repeats and those using a greater number of yarns arebeing fabricated to satisfy todays fabric requirements.

Since the number of yarns utilized to knit a particular fabric is veryhigh and the yarns are closely spaced with respect to one another, it isvirtually impossible to difthe bearn, by slightly relieving the yarntension, identification can be made. In this somewhat relaxed condition,the stretch yarn will lie substantially in a straight line whereas theset yarn will appear slack. Similarly, during knitting, a partialrelieving of the tension placed on the yarns will similary cause the setyarns to appear slack and droop while the stretch yarns will remain intime not only for resetting the yarn but firstly in identiferentiatebetween one yarn and another. Therefore, it

is quite complicated to check the pattern when the machine is firstsetup. As previously mentioned, the common technique employed is to takea piece of the actual knitted fabric, cut it out and dye it in order tosee if the pattern is correct. If the pattern is found to be incorrect,the machine must be reset to obtain the correct repeat and rechecked inthe manner previously described. Most often it is extremely difficult todetermine precisely which yarns were incorrectly. positioned.

To overcome these problems, it has been found that by utilizing texturedyarns, one stretch and one set, the yarns may be positively identifiedat any time. For instance, in the 3 l and l 3 pattern, each warp will beprovided with stretch and set yarns. More specifically, by wayofexample, one warp is provided with three stretch yarns and one set yarnwhereas the other warp is provided with one stretch yarn and three setyarns respectively. Identification of each of the respective set andstretch yarns may readily be performed.

For example, when using set and stretch type yarns, in this instance theset polyester yarn could be dyable with cationic type dye stuffs whereasthe stretch yarn is dyed with a dispersed type dye-stuffs;identification of each yarn is made by a simple tension test. Morespecifically, the characteristics of the stretch polyester textured yarnare such that it will retract much more than a set type polyester yarn.This stretch test is performed fying which yarns have broken. A commonpractice heretofore is that when yarn breakage is encountered, themachine is stopped, the yarns reset, a newly knitted or woven portioncut out and dyed to check that the pattern has been properly reset. Thisprocedure is of course time consuming and costly. By using the method ofthis invention, the broken yarns are grasped between the fingers,stretchedto apply tension to theyarns, the tension then being slightlyrelieved thereby allowing for identification of the stretch and setyarns. Each of the yarns may be then readily placed in its properposition in accordance with the particular pattern and weaving orknitting continued without any further machine downtime.

By practice of the method of this invention, one can positively identifythe yarns used in the pattern both quickly and without any complexprocedures. Further the identification may be performed either inchecking patterns during warping, weaving-or knitting, and mayalso beused when replacing broken yarns. The advantages over the complicatedprior art techniques result in positive identification and a moreeconomical manufacture of textured woven and warp knitted fabrics.

Although the above description is directed to a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, it is noted that other variations and modifications willbe apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit'and scope of the present discloficient sothatthe yarns assume a slack position;v

and

comparing the amount of slack displayed by the combination of yarnsutilized in the pattern, those yarns displaying the greater amount ofslack being identifiable as the set yarns whereas those with the lesseramount of slack being identifiable as the stretch yarns.

c 2. A method of identifying yarns during the knitting of warp knitfabrics formed of textured yarns which comprises the steps of:

arranging the yarns on a warp in accordance with a r stretch. and settextured yarns;

threading the yarns through the appropriate means in l the knittingmachine in accordance with the predetermined pattern;

relieving the tension of the yarns an amount sufficient so that theyarns assume a slack position; and comparing the amount of slackdisplayed by .the combination of yarns utilized in the pattern, thoseyarns displaying the greater amountof slack being identifiable as theset yarns whereas those with the lesser amount of slack beingidentifiable as the stretch yarns. t

3. A method of identifying yarns during the fabrication of woven fabricsformed of textured yams which comprises the steps of: arranging theyarns on a warp in accordance with a predetermined pattern utilizing acombination of stretch and set textured yarns;

introducing the yams through the appropriate means in a loom inaccordance with the predetermined pattern; relieving the tension of theyarns an amount sufficient so that the yarns assume a slack position;and

comparing the amount of slack displayed by the combination of yarnsutilized in the pattern, those yarns displaying the greater amount ofslack being identifiable as the set yarns whereas those with the lesseramount of slack being identifiable as the stretch yams.

4. A method of producing a fabric with textured 5 yarns wherein brokenyarns may be readily identified predetermined pattern utilizing acombination of comprising the steps of:

arranging the yarns in accordance with a predetermined pattern utilizinga combination of stretch and set textured yarns;

grasping a plurality of said broken yarns and applying a tension forcethereon sufficient so that the yarns assume a substantially tautposition;

relieving the tension of the yarns an amount sufficient so that theyarns assume a slack position; and

stretch yarns.

1. A method of identifying yarns during the preparation of a warp oftextured yarns which comprises the steps of: arranging the yarns inaccordance with a predetermined pattern utilizing a combination ofstretch and set textured yarns; at least partially winding theprearranged yarns on the warp; relieving the tension of the warp yarnsan amount sufficient so that the yarns assume a slack position; andcomparing the amount of slack displayed by the combination of yarnsutilized in the pattern, those yarns displaying the greater amount ofslack being identifiable as the set yarns whereas those with the lesseramount of slack being identifiable as the stretch yarns.
 2. A method ofidentifying yarns during the knitting of warp knit fabrics formed oftextured yarns which comprises the steps of: arranging the yarns on awarp in accordance with a predetermined pattern utilizing a combinationof stretch and set textured yarns; threading the yarns through theappropriate means in the knitting machine in accordance with thepredetermined pattern; relieving the tension of the yarns an amountsufficient so that the yarns assume a slack position; and comparing theamount of slack displayed by the combination of yarns utilized in thepattern, those yarns displaying the greater amount of slack beingidentifiable as the set yarns whereas those with the lesser amount ofslack being identifiable as the stRetch yarns.
 3. A method ofidentifying yarns during the fabrication of woven fabrics formed oftextured yarns which comprises the steps of: arranging the yarns on awarp in accordance with a predetermined pattern utilizing a combinationof stretch and set textured yarns; introducing the yarns through theappropriate means in a loom in accordance with the predeterminedpattern; relieving the tension of the yarns an amount sufficient so thatthe yarns assume a slack position; and comparing the amount of slackdisplayed by the combination of yarns utilized in the pattern, thoseyarns displaying the greater amount of slack being identifiable as theset yarns whereas those with the lesser amount of slack beingidentifiable as the stretch yarns.
 4. A method of producing a fabricwith textured yarns wherein broken yarns may be readily identifiedcomprising the steps of: arranging the yarns in accordance with apredetermined pattern utilizing a combination of stretch and settextured yarns; grasping a plurality of said broken yarns and applying atension force thereon sufficient so that the yarns assume asubstantially taut position; relieving the tension of the yarns anamount sufficient so that the yarns assume a slack position; andcomparing the amount of slack displayed by said plurality of brokenyarns previously grasped, those yarns displaying the greater amount ofslack being identifiable as the set yarns whereas those with the lesseramount of slack being identifiable as the stretch yarns.